Ronaldo announces Portugal exit as handover to next generation

On 5 November 2026, Cristiano Ronaldo announced in a social-media video that he was ending his Portugal career. Ronaldo gave no specific reason for choosing this moment.

Today the time has come to hand it on to the future.

After 23 years in the national team, Ronaldo presented his departure as a handover: Portugal’s shirt, he said, now belongs to the next generation.

The announcement leaves Portugal’s availability question unresolved: Reuters reported that Ronaldo’s retirement would take effect after the November international break, while other reports described his Portugal career as ending with the announcement. He framed his departure as a handover to the next generation, but did not explain why he chose this moment. Jorge Jesus must prepare for Denmark and Wales amid uncertainty over whether Portugal’s leading scorer will be available, while the players who follow Ronaldo inherit a role he described as belonging to the country, not to him alone.

On 30 September, Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen before the Denmark match. The move came amid a dispute over his use, though accounts of what was said differ. The Portuguese Football Federation’s Disciplinary Council then imposed a 30-day suspension and a €255 fine. Reports said the suspension would expire before Portugal’s next matches, leaving a possible return open. Our 27 October report noted his place on the preliminary list was an option, not a confirmed call-up.

Ronaldo described the choice as a personal one, not simply a decision about selection. In his social-media post, he said it had been difficult because it involved both his head and his heart.

It was not an easy decision, because some decisions are not made only with the head. They are also made with the heart.

He also said the number 7 shirt had never belonged exclusively to him. He had worn it for 23 years, a Portugal career that ended with 234 appearances and 146 goals. Those totals are men’s international records, according to Reuters and Portuguese media reports.

During his time with Portugal, the team won one European Championship and two Nations League titles. The shirt, in Ronaldo’s account, was a responsibility shared with the country, even as he carried it through a career that set the international benchmarks.

Ronaldo’s message to the players who follow him was not to imitate his career, but to believe Portugal can go further. He called for young people with dreams, players who keep going and a new generation ready to reach heights no one has reached before.

Portugal will always need young people who dream, players who never give up, new generations who believe it is possible to reach where no one has reached.

That leaves a practical question for Jorge Jesus: who can take on the goalscoring work? Gonçalo Ramos is one option. A Bola reported that the forward, Portugal’s established number 9, had scored 14 goals in 31 international appearances, including 11 in the 13 matches he started.

Those figures make Ramos a credible candidate to lead the attack, not an automatic replacement for Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s appeal was broader than identifying one successor: he spoke of a collective generation, whose task is to make the next step its own.

Portugal’s next two matches are not about keeping the Nations League campaign alive: the quarter-final place is already secured. What remains is first place in Group A4, with one point enough to guarantee it.

The order matters. Denmark visit Braga on 14 November, followed by Wales in Cardiff three days later. Portugal can settle the group before travelling to Wales, but only if the first match supplies the point they need.

That gives Jorge Jesus a clear short-term target as he names his squad: secure the group lead while preparing for two opponents in different settings.

The September departure also left two accounts of the break between Ronaldo and Jesus. Ronaldo alleged that Jesus had broken his word more than once, and said he left camp after the coach’s news conference and a conversation with the Portuguese Football Federation president, according to Record and RTP.

Jesus’s version was different: he said Ronaldo had accepted the team’s decision, while the coach changed his mind about using him against Norway because of the circumstances of the match. Jesus also acknowledged that Ronaldo was angry with him.

I’m here for you to decide. If you want me to play, I’ll play. If you want me to go to the stands, I’ll go.

Ricardo Carvalho, a former Portugal international and national-team assistant, had expected Ronaldo to carry on for perhaps another year. Speaking to The Obi One podcast, he said Ronaldo’s drive to play and score had fuelled his success, but could make it difficult for a coach to balance his minutes with opportunities for other strikers.

He will continue for as long as he wants. I think it will be another year.

Portugal’s Football Federation has described Ronaldo as an inspirational leader and a defining symbol of the national team. It said his career had inspired younger generations, placing his importance beyond the records and trophies he leaves behind.

Gary Lineker has suggested Portugal should give him a farewell on the scale of Lionel Messi’s final Argentina appearance. In the account Lineker cited, Messi scored and assisted twice in a 3-0 friendly win over Benin, then received an emotional ovation in Buenos Aires.

I think Cristiano deserves the same.

Ronaldo’s last account of Portugal was not a scoreline: he recalled the anthem beginning, teammates beside him and children, parents and grandparents in the stands. He described those minutes as a shared passion, a scene that belongs as much to supporters as to the players. The next public marker is a squad announcement, followed by the team’s final group matches without him. The Federation has promised a tribute, but its form and date remain open.

What to watch:

• Jorge Jesus’s squad announcement at Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras on 6 November at 12:00.